Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
Rose
The next two days pass without any major incidents, and I’m occupied by my classes and stolen moments with my strange little family of supernatural lovers.
Drake stays, present, though sometimes I catch him staring into the distance with a faraway look.
Lucien is more vigilant than ever, checking in on me between classes, bringing me books on advanced magical theory and defense.
Soren continues to be inappropriately attentive both in and out of the classroom.
It’s almost normal.
Which is exactly why I should have known it wouldn’t last.
The whispers start during dinner on the third day after classes resume. At first, it’s just slightly louder chatter in the dining hall. Then it spreads, table to table. Something’s wrong.
I’m sitting with Lucien, pushing my mashed potatoes around my plate and trying to stop Hank from stealing one of my peas, when I notice the change in the vibe. Lucien is picking up on it too, his head tilting slightly as he listens.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Not sure.” He frowns. “Something about a student.”
I follow his gaze to where a group is huddled together. One of them, a tall guy with glasses, keeps shaking his head.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell Lucien, standing up.
“Rose—” he starts, but I’m already moving toward the group.
I approach cautiously, not wanting to intrude if this is just some typical academy drama. But as I get closer, I catch parts of their conversation, and there’s definitely else something going on.
When they notice me standing there, they go silent. “I couldn’t help overhearing. Someone’s missing?”
The tall guy with glasses exchanges glances with his friends, then nods reluctantly. “Ella. She didn’t show up for class. No one’s seen her since the morning she got back from break.”
Ella. One of Thorne’s inner circle. A pretty, vicious girl who laughs at every cruel thing Thorne does.
“Have you told anyone?” I ask.
A girl with a short pixie cut lets out a heavy sigh, like she’s about to explain something to an idiot. “Like they care. Besides...” She trails off, but her meaning is clear. No one wants to attract Jasmine’s attention.
“Maybe she just went home,” I suggest. “Got spooked by all the trials before break and decided not to come back?”
“Without her things?” The tall guy shakes his head. “No way. And Thorne’s been looking everywhere. She’s really freaked out.”
That last bit gets my attention. Thorne, freaked out? The girl who orchestrated a campaign of torment against me, who allied herself with Jasmine Wickersly? If she’s worried.
I head back to Lucien.
“Ella’s missing.” I keep my voice low. “For days. No one’s seen her, but all her stuff is still in her room.”
“I heard.” Lucien’s voice is calm, but his expression is dark.
I push my plate away. “And Thorne’s apparently really worried.”
“We should tell the others.”
When we reach Lucien’s quarters, Soren is already there in the hallway.
“You heard?” Soren asks as soon as we all enter Lucien’s room.
“About Ella? Yeah, just now,” I confirm.
“This isn’t the first,” Lucien says, closing and locking the door behind us. “There was another. A staff member. Disappeared three days ago.”
My blood runs cold. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I was investigating,” Lucien replies. “Staff come and go. I wanted to be certain before causing alarm.”
“And now?” Soren asks.
“Now we have a pattern. And a problem.”
A cold rush of air passes through the room, and Drake materializes right beside me, his sudden appearance making me jump.
I’m filling him in on what’s happening when there’s a thump on the door.
“It’s Ash.” I can feel him, he’s annoyed. Or angry. I can’t quite tell the difference between subtle emotions with Ash yet, they all seem so intense.
Soren smirks. “That’s about right.”
Lucien opens the door, and Ash strides in. He seems unsurprised to find us all gathered together.
“Good, you’re all here,” he says, not bothering with greetings. “You need to hear this.”
Soren positions himself closer to me, while Drake steps partially in front of me. Only Lucien remains where he is, watching Ash with wary eyes.
“There’s been another disappearance,” Ash says, confirming our fears. “And I know what’s happening.”
“Enlighten us,” Soren says.
Ash’s gaze goes to me, then back to the others. “Jasmine Wickersly was imprisoned by her own coven for a reason. She has what you might say are peculiar appetites. She consumes other witches.” Ash says bluntly, no sugar-coating.
The room goes silent as we all process this.
“You’re saying she’s eating people?” Drake asks, sounding horrified.
“Yes, essentially. She absorbs their power into herself. It’s why she was locked away.”
“The Aztecs believed that consuming the heart of a valiant opponent would transfer their courage. In Papua New Guinea, certain tribes would eat the brains of their fallen enemies to gain their wisdom.” Lucien rubs a hand across his face.
“In the 1600s,” he continues, “there was a countess in Eastern Europe who consumed young witches in an attempt to absorb their youth and power,” Lucien says. “She bathed in their blood.”
“Elizabeth Báthory,” I say automatically, the name coming to me from some history documentary. “The Blood Countess.”
“Precisely.” Lucien nods.
I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly cold. “So, Ella...”
“Is likely gone.” Ash’s face is grim. “And there will be more.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper, feeling sick. I didn’t have any love for Ella, but to think that she was killed like that is horrible.
Ash looks directly at me. “She’ll want more. Stronger magic.”
My hand goes instinctively to the mark on my arm.
“That’s why she wanted to make sure I turned your magic on full after she killed Helena.”
I remember Jasmine’s tongue against my ear, her words. ‘You’re ripe. Not ready, but close.’
“What do we do?” I ask. “We can’t just let her keep eating people. And I don’t exactly want to end up as her dinner.”
“For now, you stay safe,” Ash says firmly. “I’m going to see what else I can find out, but until then, you go nowhere alone.”
“You expect us to trust you?” Lucien sneers. “After everything?”
“I don’t care if you trust me or not. But if you want Rose to survive, you’ll listen. Jasmine Wickersly is insane and insatiable. She won’t stop until someone stops her.”
“And you’re volunteering for the job?” Drake quietly takes my hand in his.
Ash ignores him and addresses me. “We train tonight.” It’s a command, not up for debate.
“How do we know this isn’t just a play?” Soren demands. “Create a threat so you can swoop in and be the hero?”
Ash’s laugh is cold. “I don’t need theatrics.” He turns to go, then pauses at the door. “Midnight.”
After he leaves, the four of us stand in silence, processing everything.
“Do we believe him?” Drake finally asks.
“About Jasmine consuming witches?” Lucien paces. “Yes. The stories have circulated for years, though most of us dismissed them as rumor.”
“And about his intentions?” I’m not sure any of us can really know what Ash is up to.
Lucien’s mouth tightens. “That remains to be seen.”
“I don’t trust him.” Drake turns to look at me. “But I believe the threat is real. And that makes for bizarre alliances.”
I touch the locket at my throat, thinking about betrayal and loyalty, and the complicated threads that have come to bind us all together, so many centuries later.